A couple of weeks ago Vicki and I took advantage of a beautiful spring afternoon to go on a motorcycle ride. One of the reasons I find motorcycle riding so delightful is just to be able to enjoy all the different aromas along the way. It’s one thing to enjoy the aroma of a dead skunk along the road from inside a car; it’s a much greater blessing to enjoy the aroma out in the open. The neat thing I discovered though is that the fowl odor doesn’t last as long. J
On our ride we encountered several fragrances. When passing one farm, the smell of hog poo was so strong that Vicki buried her face in my coat for almost a mile. We encountered the camp fire smell of someone burning some dead braches in his grove and also the lovely smell of freshly cut grass. Because there were many farmers tilling the soil, the fresh smell of dirt was constant. Then there was the sinus cleansing smell of a cattle feedlot (oh I wish they could capture that scent and package it as a car freshener). And then there were the pleasant smells of the lilac bushes and the budding ornamental trees. And finally, there was the breath- stopping smell of the diesel truck that pulled out in front of us.
As we cruised through the different odor zones, two things came to mind. One was that our journey on the cycle was much like our journey through life with the various scents representing the different stages and trials we go through. Like the writer of Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” There are those times in our life when things just seem to stink; on the other hand, there are those sweet smelling seasons when everything seems to go our way. And then there are those seasons that seem as stale as the odor inside the transfer station at the landfill.
I wonder: If you were to describe how your life was going right now, what smell would it be? Sweet…Stinky…Stale…Odorless?
The other thought that came to mind; I wonder what kind of aroma am I emitting? Not literally, but I wonder when people encounter me, is it a pleasant experience for them. Do I leave behind a refreshing scent for both believers and unbelievers? And even more important, what kind of aroma does God receive from my life?
My hope is that I am like the Apostle Paul who wrote, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life.” II Corinthians 2:14-16
My hope is that I am as much of a blessing to others as the smell of freshly cut grass is to me. My hope is that I am the aroma of Christ to everyone I encounter. And my hope for you, regardless of what stage of the journey you are in, is that you too will be the aroma of Christ to those around you.
Sharing the aroma of Christ,
Mike